Third instalment to Asylum and Depression. Requested by Cheryl24. Hope you enjoy :-)

Bipolar

Joe and Colby had noticed it over the past few weeks.

Jon was snappier than usual, more annoyed, more impatient.

Little things, no matter how trivial, would set him off into a full blown rage that would take hours to calm him from.

They were worried about their friend. When they'd tried to sit down and talk to him about his behaviour, it hadn't exactly gone to plan.

He'd felt like they were ganging up and attacking him and he'd ended up storming out of the apartment for hours before he came home and went straight into his bedroom, not giving his friends a chance to explain their concerns.

They were worried that Jon's depression had maybe gotten worse and that perhaps his medication had stopped working.

Just when they thought his mood couldn't get any worse, it seemed to disappear as quickly as it came.

Over the last few days, he was cheery, sometimes annoyingly so. He was full of energy and they had trouble getting him to calm down. He still wasn't sleeping due to his insomnia and his now insane high energy levels.

They knew they had to do something. Jon just wasn't Jon lately.

They both sat in the kitchen eating their breakfast when they saw Jon's bedroom door open. He walked into the kitchen and began to make himself something to eat.

He smiled at them both and wished them a 'good morning'. After they finished eating, he told his friends he was going for a run and left the apartment.

Joe and Colby walked into the living room and sat on the sofa.

"He was scarily cheery this morning. And he's going for a run? It's been near impossible to get him to do anything lately and now he's full of energy and going for runs?" Joe said to his friend.

Colby nodded. "I know. He's totally not been himself and I'm starting to get worried. What if his meds aren't working anymore? I don't wanna see him hurt himself or fall back to how he said he was when he was younger. I don't want him to be locked away again" Colby said sadly.

Joe patted his friends knee and whispered "me either".

A little while later, both men were on Colby's laptop searching the internet for answers.

They'd found a website that was all about depression and after reading what they already knew, they came across a link to a website about bipolar disorder.

Colby clicked on it and they read the article. It explained what bipolar was and its symptoms.

After they'd finished reading, both men sat back and breathed a sad sigh.

"Is it me, or does this make a lot of sense?" Colby asked.

"It does" Joe replied.

"The mood swings, the constant tiredness. His insomnia is at its worst lately. He's cranky, losing his appetite. He questions every little thing and finds something wrong with it, no matter how small. It's like he's given up on life at times. Then boom, just like that, he's his old self but more hyper" he added.

"So what do we do?" Colby asked.

"Talking to him isn't going to work. Look what happened last time" Joe said.

"The only thing I can think to do is to get in contact with his doctor and see if he can help. Look at what the article says, ninety six percent of bipolar sufferers, don't know they have it and it's incredibly common to get misdiagnosed as depression." he told his friend.

Joe had just got off the phone with Jon's doctor when Colby walked over to him and asked how the call went.

"He's definitely concerned. Said that the meds Jon's on couldn't have just stopped working. He asked if we were sure he was still taking them but I told him we'd know if he'd stopped. I explained what happened when we tried to talk to him and he said that making him feel attacked isn't the best way to go about it" Joe explained.

"So what did he suggest?" Colby asked.

"He said he's gonna give Jon a call. Tell him he wants him to come in for a routine check up. He explained that there's an assessment he can do to determine if Jon has bipolar or not" Joe told him.

Colby nodded. "Did he say when he's going to see him?" he asked.

"He said he's going to try and get him in as an emergency this afternoon. He told us to act normal and not to give anything away. Said it might be best if we go with him so that if he kicks off, he has friends there to keep him grounded" he told him.

They both went about their normal routine.

Jon arrived home about an hour later. He greeted his friends happily before going for a shower.

After showering, Jon went into the kitchen to make some lunch for himself and his friends.

"You guys want an omelette?" he asked.

They both replied 'yes' and told him what different ingredients they wanted to go in it.

After they ate, they decided to watch some TV.

It was at that moment that Jon's phone began to ring.

Colby and Joe glanced at each other briefly before turning their focus back onto the programme they were watching.

"Hello" Jon answered politely.

"Hi Jon, it's Dr Andrews; this is just a courtesy call to see if you'd be able to come into the surgery this afternoon?" the doctor asked.

"Um...yeah, sure; any particular reason as to why?" Jon asked.

"I haven't seen you in a while and I just wanted to see how you're doing, how your coping" the doctor said playing aloof.

"Oh ok. Yeah, that's fine. What time did you want me in?" he asked.

"Is three o'clock alright for you?" the doctor asked.

Jon looked down at his watch which currently read 'one twenty seven'.

"Yeah, three's fine. See you then" he said before hanging up.

When he walked back into the living room, Colby sat up slightly.

"Who was that" he asked feigning ignorance.

"Huh...oh...my doctor" Jon told him.

"Is everything ok man?" Joe asked him.

"Yeah; Said that he wants me in for a check up at three" he told them not suspecting anything.

"Want us to come with?" Colby asked.

"Don't mind" Jon told him as he carried on watching TV.

Three in the PM found the three men sat in the waiting room of Jon's doctor's surgery.

They didn't have to wait long as Dr Andrews appeared in the doorway and called out "Jonathan Good".

Jon sighed at the usage of his first name as he got up and walked over to his doctor, Joe and Colby close behind.

They huddled into the small office and took a seat as Dr Matthews closed his door and sat at his desk.

"So, I bet you're wondering why I called you down here?" the doctor asked a friendly smile on his face.

"You said for a check up" Jon replied.

"That's right. I wondered if you wouldn't mind doing a small evaluation with me. Every now and then we like to see how people suffering with depression are feeling" he explained.

Jon shifted in is seat.

"Ok, I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I'd like for you to answer them as honestly as you can ok?" the doctor asked with a reassuring smile.

Jon nodded.

"Alright; first question. Have you been feeling down or depressed more than usual lately" he asked.

Jon looked toward Joe and Colby before turning back to the doctor.

He nodded.

"Ok, second question. Have you been feeling anxious lately, or more anxious then usual?" he asked.

Again Jon nodded.

"Alright; been feeling more talkative then usual lately?"

"Not all the time" Jon replied truthfully.

"Ok. Been feeling really energetic? More than you normally would?"

"Sometimes" Jon said.

"Alright; have you been more irritable lately? Things been getting your back up, no matter how small it may be" he asked.

Jon nodded.

"Been feeling overly emotional at all? Like you want to cry or are really happy?"

Jon glanced over at his friends before nodding again.

"Ok. Have you been feeling angry and hostile towards yourself or to others?"

Jon nodded.

"Have you been forgetful at all? More so then usual?"

Another nod.

"Have you been feeling unsociable at all? Locking yourself away, not wanting to be around others?"

Another nod.

"Ok. Have you been hallucinating at all? Seeing or hearing things that aren't really there?" the doctor asked.

"No" Jon replied sternly.

"Alright; when you get into these patterns of feeling angry or happy, do they last for a few days, or a few weeks?"

"A few weeks" Jon answered.

"Are you easily distracted by things?"

"Aren't most people?" Jon snorted.

The doctor chose to ignore his reply.

"Ok, last question and I have to ask I'm sorry. Have you had anything self harming thoughts or suicidal thoughts" he asked.

Jon hesitated for a moment before quietly saying "no".

"Ok. Thank you for completing that evaluation Jon" the doctor said before excusing himself from the room.

"What the hell was that?" Jon asked irritated.

"What? The evaluation" Joe asked.

"Your doc said it was routine man" he added.

"Yeah, maybe so but I didn't like the questions" Jon told his friends clearly unnerved by it all.

A few minutes later, the doctor walked back in the room.

"Ok Jon; I've just looked through your results and I'm a little worried about some of the answers you gave" the doctor began.

"We've talked in the past about family members suffering from depression haven't we?" he asked to which Jon nodded in reply.

"Do you know if anyone in your family has suffered from bipolar?" the doctor asked him.

"Not that I know if" he told him.

"Look, what's this all about doc? the same day appointment? the questions? What's going on?" he asked.

The doctor looked over to Joe and Colby.

"Jon, your friends contacted me earlier today because they're worried about your well being" the doctor told him.

Jon snapped his head towards his friends. "You did WHAT?" he yelled.

"Now Jon, calm down and let's talk about this. You answered yes to most of the questions I asked you and that has caught my attention" Dr Andrews explained.

"Your friends care about you and they're worried that you might not be coping so well. After doing this evaluation with you, it's my professional opinion that you are suffering from bipolar disorder" he explained.

Jon glared at his friends.

"We want to help you deal with this Jon" his doctor told him but he was beginning to get more and more agitated.

"You guys went behind my back and talked about me to him" he asked pointing at his doctor.

"We tried talking to you about how you've been lately man and you got all angry and stormed out" Joe explained.

"Were worried about you" he added.

"Worried about what? Worried that I'm not coping, that I'm crazy...WHAT?" he demanded to know.

"Worried that you'll end up being sectioned again if you don't get help" Colby spoke up sadly.

This made Jon stop his yelling immediately. Tears formed in his eyes at the mention of his past.

"It's better to get help then to suffer Jon" his doctor said.

"The treatment's simple. You continue to take your anti depressants and I'm going to prescribe you some mood stabilisers to help you cope with the sudden changes" his doctor said as he began to write out a prescription.

He handed Jon some leaflets and told him to read them to become familiar with what bipolar is and how it's managed.

"Do you think you'll be ok to go home with your friends" Dr Andrews asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine" Jon told him.

"I want to see you next week and then once every week until I feel comfortable in your coping abilities to sign you off, ok" his doctor told him.

Jon nodded.

He walked out of the office and walked to the car, his friends following closely behind. They headed to the drug store to get Jon's new meds.

Once home, they all sat in the front room, an awkward silence filling the air.

"Were sorry we went behind your back" Joe told his friend.

"We hated doing it" he added.

Jon didn't reply.

"We could see something wasn't right Jon. We were really worried about you and we just wanted the doc to see you and make a diagnosis for himself" Colby said.

"What do you mean 'a diagnosis for himself'" Jon asked his friends.

"Well, while you were out for your run today, me and Joe went online and looked up what might be causing your sudden mood swings lately. You haven't been yourself and we wanted to get a professional opinion" Colby told him.

"We just want what's best for you" Joe told him.

Jon nodded. He stood up from his seat and went into his bedroom, closing the door behind him leaving Joe and Colby alone in the living room.

Jon lay on his bed and closed his eyes.

After thinking about the day's events and digesting what had transpired, he came to a conclusion.

He got up from his bed and walked into the living room.

He found Colby and Joe still sitting where he had seen them last.

After sitting down he glanced at them both.

"I'm not mad at you" he began.

"I appreciate you wanting to look out for me. Truth is I've been terrified by how I've been feeling lately. I didn't wanna say anything cos I was scared that they'd try and lock me away like before" he said sadly.

"I just wanna be normal" he mumbled trying to hold back tears.

"You are normal man. You just, need some help, that's all" Colby told him.

"You're our best friend, our brother and we want you to be at your best. Ok?" Joe asked.

Jon nodded, a small smile playing over his lips.

The men spent the night reading through the booklets Dr Andrews had given him.

They then went online and researched more into the world of bipolar. It gave Jon a better understanding of the emotions he'd been feeling and it helped Joe and Colby learn how to help Jon deal with those feelings.

There they sat, a family, helping each other just by being in each other's presence.

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